CNG Autorickshaw
Drivers in hardship as owners charge high rent
Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
The owners of CNG-run auto-rickshaws in the city are taking Tk 500 to Tk 600 a day from the drivers, ignoring an instruction from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to receive maximum Tk 300.Most of the drivers say the amount is too high and the owners charge it due to absence of a strict policy. "At the end of a day, we are forced to pay up to Tk 600 to the owners. After paying this high amount and the fuel cost, we have hardly Tk 100 to Tk 150 in hand," said Kashem, a CNG driver in Dhanmondi. Abul Kalam, another CNG driver at Karwan Bazar, said he is struggling to pay house rents and bear the household expenditures as the daily income is inadequate. "I am the only earning member in my family of five. It is really difficult to survive with this income," said Ilias, another CNG driver. His house rent is Tk 1,100 per month and other expenses are not less than Tk 3,000. Drivers, whose families are residing in villages, are in even worse economic hardship. "I am sharing a room with five other drivers and paying only Tk 400 so that I can send more money home," said Kalam. Each shift is usually of 12 hours but some drivers tend to begin their shift from 8 in the morning and operate until midnight. "This is really stressful but I have to earn more," said another CNG driver. Some drivers complained that the owners charge Tk 50 for each extra hour. The high daily charge of the owners forces the drivers to demand an extra fare of Tk 10 to 15 from each passenger. Even some drivers now switch off the meter and take a trip on contract or negotiation with the passenger. Most drivers are aware of the BRTA-approved autorickshaw shift charge of maximum Tk 300 but none of them protest it. "If I protest, I will lose the job and the owner will give the CNG to another driver," said Ilias. At present around 15,000 CNG autorickshaws are in operation in the city and the number of drivers is more than 30,000. The demand of each autorickshaw is high that encourages the owners to charge extra amount. The owners, however, attributed the increased shift charge to the high price of CNG autorickshaw and maintenance cost. "I purchased the CNG for Tk 3.56 lakh, which is too high," said Suruj Mia, a CNG autorickshaw owner who takes a daily charge of Tk 500 from his drivers. Suruj explained that the monthly income from a CNG is around Tk 8,000 to 10,000 after deducting the maintenance costs. "At least Tk 6,000 is spent on maintenance and replacement of damaged parts," he added. The price of each CNG autorickshaw was originally Tk 1.57 lakh, which has risen to Tk 4.60 lakh, the owners said.
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